Panasonic PT-AE3000 projector

Wired rating

Wired

The array of tweaking options including colour management and zoom settings. The smooth-screen filter and the stunning image quality

Tired

The price (although you get what you pay for)

Price

£2,099

These days, LCD-based projectors are usually to be found only at the budget end of the market, but Panasonic has different ideas with the PT-AE3000. Coming in at more than two grand, this is a resolutely high-end unit, with a hefty 7.3kg frame to match.

Native resolution is 1080p, with a quoted brightness of 1,600 ANSI Lumens and a healthy 60,000:1 contrast ratio. Connectivity options are comprehensive. There are three HDMI inputs, plus VGA for attaching to a computer. The HDMI ports all support version 1.3, with the greater bandwidth allowing compatibility with x.v.Color. Analog video can be piped in via either of the two component inputs, S-video or composite. Resolutions are supported all the way up to 1080/60p.

It’s the high-end features that really set the PT-AE3000 apart. In particular, the colour management system, which lets you adjust gamma at three different levels, as well as having separate control of the three colour components. So you can tweak the picture to suit your projection room precisely. You can also save multiple zoom settings, which allows you to create presets for watching either 16:9 or 2.35:1 Cinemascope material, and then switch between them as required with the press of a button.

A common problem with LCD projectors is the visibility of the individual pixels. The PT-AE3000 combats this with its smooth-screen filter, which uses a double refraction crystal to make the gridlines thinner and lighter. There’s noise reduction for MPEG content, a detail clarity setting for emphasising precision, and a cinema reality option for synchronising the refresh rate. The frame creation system interpolates extra frames for smoother motion, as with 100Hz TVs.

All this results in stunning image quality. Full HD sources look incredibly vibrant, with a wide tonal range. Subtle shades are reproduced with as much aplomb as heavily saturated colour. The image is also incredibly sharp, with smooth screen virtually eradicating gridlines. Black levels are rich and deep, but there is still plenty of detail in shadows, despite the use of a dynamic contrast system. The PT-AE3000 also incorporates capable upscaling, allowing it to reproduce standard-definition content without adding extra artefacts into the mix.

Although DLP dominates the higher end, Panasonic’s PT-AE3000 shows what LCD projectors can do in the right hands. Combining a plethora of features with supreme image quality, it sets a new standard for LCD, without breaking the bank.